IAmA 5th generation Homesteader. Ask me anything about the lifestyle!

How do you earn money for things that you need to buy?

I pay my mortgage with my normal 40-75 hr week salary as a Journeyman Millwright.

•I’m also a Pine tree farm owner,

•State Registered Shell egg producer. I sell eggs to my local grocery store,

•I sell 3lb wheels of goat cheese to anyone who will buy

Edit:

I recently bought a saw mill to supply my own lumber from trees on my property. I’ll probably start selling custom order lumber to people as well.

How much for that wheel of cheese, unsmoked and shipped to Miami?

This wheel has been sold. Buuuut,$70 plus shipping. I currently don’t have a goat producing milk however. One goes into milk soon though.

I'm looking at a pine tree farm as well. Worth it?

It’s a mixed bag. I’ve had luck with 3 year sappling turnarounds. Selling to landscaping companies. Between the wind and deer, profits can go south fairly quick.

I'm looking at plucking and storing on my land while they wait for delivery to their new plots. Seems like a lot less value and way more time to go with saplings. The equipment needed is a bit costly, but 5 year pines can sell for 800 to 1200 in my area and a 10 year old is around 2k (including delivery within 25 miles)

Looks like I’m moving into your area.🤣

It's a strange bubble of a town. Lots of wealth from multi home owners who spend only a few month here. Very few full time residents. One greenhouse servicing a 100 mile radius as most competitors went under this past season due to high water bills.

Never would have thought about trees this way until this past year

That’s a prime fucking opportunity, good sir. Take full advantage.

Are the deer destroying the saplings? Describe the sabotage.

Deer: nom nom nom .

Other deer: oh?! Is this a branch? Not anymore.

2.5k-3k every 25ish years per acre. A teeny tiny bit that may not cover the taxes 1-2 times thinning in between.

This is a fair reality.

Omg that cheese.... Don't suppose it ships well?

same wheel of cheese after I smoked it.

In all honesty, if I were to smoke a wheel and vacuum seal it. It would probably be fine since it’s winter.

Have you sold any of your farm products to any of the co-ops in Minneapolis?

I haven’t.

Have you been on House Hunter's? Perhaps looking for a modest 1.7m dollar home in Minneapolis?

No I haven’t.

What is the difference between a homestead and a farm? I have never heard the term before so I just googled it and it seems just like a farm? Is there a distinction I'm missing?

The line is a bit blurry, isn’t it? In my experience a homestead is parcel of land meant to sustain a family, where the surplus is either preserved or sold. A farm has more land which is primarily used to sell agricultural products.

In my state, to legally qualify for an agricultural tax reduction on my land. I must have 10 acres of land classified as tillable land for crops or 10 acres of land classified as a pasture.

You call this homesteading. In Canada we just call these people country folks. What's the difference between you living on a homestead or someone in a rural part of the US living on a few acres.

What makes your lifestyle "wholesome" and what does "wholesome" mean?

Thanks eh!

I’m not quite familiar with your government and it’s policies. Are there such programs where your government gives you a decent tax reduction on property taxes. Plus a mortgage subsidized by your government, with a fixed APR much lower than an conventional mortgage?

Wholesome- conducive to or suggestive of good health and physical well-being.

In the context of what I said. My family and I live a wholesome life because our food source comes from our backyard; crops and livestock. Well water is better as well.

Wholesome in context would also mean that some of the modern distractions that would otherwise prevent family time doesn’t apply. For example, some may give their children a tablet to pacify them. My oldest and I would rather go outside and build a snowman.

Hope this helps. I look forward to your response!

If you live in the north yes you get subtantial discounts and property values are also way way lower.

There are also credits for income taxes for northern residents

The problem with wholesome is you can also be wholesome in the city.

Well water 100% depends on what's nearby and it can be better but it can also be way worse. One industry in your water table or a brownfield and it's bad.

What is your grocery store budget monthly?

My kids played outside for years before they became hooked on internet and this is recent. You do get the benefits of acres of property and the greater neighbours too. The thing is I could buy a few acres just a mile or two away and do the same thing and still live near all amenities. Its just called country or Township living here. Some folks live in mansions in the country too :)

Thanks for your perspective. The idea of homesteading just seems so American and I am trying to see what's different in 21st century.

To me homesteading is you get 100 acres in middle of God forsaken nowhere and you take unimproved land and take generations to improve it. After long enough it becomes some kind of money making land such as a farm or logging or whatever but takes a long time. To me homesteading seems far in the past.

I currently feed my family of 4 on a $100-$150 weekly.

You’re not wrong with your view on homesteading. I won’t forget my great grandpa telling me a story on how one of his friends died while improving land. Summary: The horse drawn tow chain rigged around a large log snapped. Sending the chain directly into his face.

What would’ve taken generations to improve, has only improved. Using modern heavy machinery, 50 years turns into 7 years.

Anyone who lives in MN as their primary residence qualifies for homestead tax status on their property. It’s not unique to people living rural, or any certain “lifestyle “ to qualify.

Not taking anything away from your country living style, good on you.

They describe in another comment on how if they have 10+ acres of tillable or pasture land, they get a (presumably) additional reduction on the property tax paid on those acres. This is pretty common in most states - e.g. Texas has a standard homestead exemption for all homeowners residing in their primary residence, but you can apply for an additional ag exemption if you meet certain criteria (TX criteria is less stringent than the MN one I think).

Yeah I’m speaking specifically about the “homestead” status he provided as “proof I’m a homesteader” linked - you can see the assessor changed his classification from “agricultural homestead “ to “residential homestead “ in 2023. The residential homestead is what all Minnesotans classify for so not really any special status. But yes there are other ag related tax breaks, which are minor but regardless…

I lost the ag status because my tillable land was rented out to a farmer who died last year. Once I start renting it out again, or plant commercial crops for sale. I’ll get it back

I looked that up a while ago. It’s pretty cool others could homestead in the city, if they so chose. I wouldn’t. Cities love to write ordinance violations

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Oh I’m spewing bullshit? No. You’re wrong.

If your government is subsidizing your mortgage, reducing your taxes, and you produce most of your own food, why do your work another job so much?

Your comments sound like your homestead is wildly successful, you make most of your own food, have enough land to rent some out and look into building a sawmill. If you can do all this, why wouldn’t you go all in on your homestead instead of continuing to work for someone else?

Debt. Once my mortgage is paid in full and I really dial in a reliable and diverse cash flow from my homestead I’ll settle down a little bit.

What technology do you find useful, and what do you deliberately do without?

Ihave a 15KW solar panel system that provides all my power year round, with a 20KwH battery back up. Certainly worth its weight in diamonds out here.

I deliberately don’t use debit, credit cards. No banking apps. I still send paper checks to pay my monthly bills. No cable tv. Neither my wife or I have a Facebook or instagram.

Is there a logical reason to not even have a debit account? It assumes no financial risk and just allows you to automate bills. Seems like a no brainer, especially for someone with such few bills

It’s purely phycological, you spend less if you have cash. You visibly see your money being spent, it hurts more than just Swiping a card.

Nor do I EVER automate bills. You just mark a calendar and pay your bill. Even for a set amount, I’d never give any institution permission to just take what they require. I’m a bit more paranoid than others I guess.

You just mark a calendar and pay your bill.

Man, I'm a bit envious. I have ADHD and if mine aren't automated they don't get paid. I have the word "RENT" taped to my door, and I still forget to pay it sometimes.

Don’t envy someone else who has ADHD as well. Last night while responding to everyone here. I set my phone down and forgot where it was. Only to figure out, yup still in my left hand. I thought it was the tv remote.

but you have reddit and you clearly use social media to show your life and efforts. it feels like you think without facebook you’re living a better life, but you’ve only chosen a different avenue for the same thing.

I know that I’m living a better live. It’s not because I don’t use Facebook.

Do you or your parents have any siblings who have chosen not to homestead?

I have Two brothers. One went military, the other decided to become a chiropractor.

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You’re multiple insults are unprovoked and unwarranted. That’s a better judge of your character than what my brother chose as a career for my character.

What has been your biggest achievement to be proud of?

What was your biggest challenge you still managed to complete?

What do you find is the most rewarding aspect of your lifestyle?

Hey! First and foremost. Happy cake day!

•biggest accomplishment so far has been solo building a 600sqft pole barn for my goats. it’s not perfect, but it will serve its purpose.

• this year on top of all the construction. I still had to cut and split 13 full coord of firewood. Burning wood is the cheapest way to heat up here. 13 full coord is a lot of f*cking wood.

• it’s quiet. No loud car music. I can see every star in the sky, no ambulance, cop, or any other sirens in the background.

It’s just so peaceful out here. Time moves much slower.

What did your great-great-grandfather's father do before his son's homesteading tradition was begun?

Indentured servitude in exchange for the opportunity to immigrate to the United States from Essex England.

Wow thats extremely unusual. indentured labor from britain really dropped off after independence. What year/where/who owned his contract. I'm curious

Who owned it? We don’t know. He was born 1780, died 1829 Contract was 4 years

That’s all the detail I could get out of my family book.

What is the difference between a homesteader and a survivalist?

Both have hunter-gatherer roots. I see other homesteaders survive daily. But I never seen an episode of bare grills claim land, break soil, build infrastructure, and plant crops. He survives to make his way back to civilization.

How do you plan to educate and socialize your children?

My wife and I both went to public school. Im okay with them also going to public school. Would like to put the taxes I paid to work! However ,Wife wants to home school them. Which I’m also okay with.

Socializing them with my coworkers children, other kids their age at parks, and events at a community center.

So you have a 9-5 (or more) , do you hunt for substance? I imagine the money you make goes towards a lot of regular groceries.

How did you meet someone who entertains that life style? I have plans to buy some land and do exactly what you are doing in a few years but can't imagine meeting anyone who shares this goal of having such a lifestyle.

I took two deer this year. Between livestock and what I produce from my “garden” I feed my family of 4 on a $100-$150 food budget. A bit less if my goats are in milk.

Would you consider cows? I purposefully do not eat beef because of how much land it takes to make a cow a cow

I would consider them.

Describe:how your life's daily routine differ from ordinary urban ppl?

My summer and winter schedules are very different due to all the planting, harvesting, and construction I need to do on my property. Winter being slightly more laid back.

0445-0530 feed/water animals,

0530-0600 start vehicle, top off outdoor Wood boiler with wood

0600-0730 commute to work

0730-1730 my work day

1730- 1900 commute back home

1900-2100 check on animals, collect eggs, sweep off solar panels if needed

2100-2115 full the wood boiler

2115- 2200 1 hour dedicated for general repair work. Such a livestock fencing or anything in the house.

2200-2230 eat, shower and go to bed.

Rinse and repeat til spring.

Reading your comments gives such a good insight, thank you for the details!

One thing that came to my mind is how many hours this is of your day. You work more than a full time job + the homestead life hours as well to make this work for you and your family, and I'm curious as to what make sit worthwhile. Because financially, I don't see how it stacks up. Good interest rates and lower taxes are nice, but are they "work 2x as many hours as the avg person in physical labor field" kind of nice?

And past the financial vs hours benefit, is it worth it in family engagement? Most family oriented adults reach a point in life where family time is the most valuable time, and we would trade any amount of work or effort for that. This sort of schedules seems to deprive you of a lot of family time. You travel hours each way for a full work day and then spend time at home tending to your homestead, and labor time is time not spent with your family. Back in the day, this made sense because that was the only option people had, but nowadays you can accomplish these same time and financial goals without so much effort. So what drives you to commit so much of yourself and your family to this?

I would move heaven and earth twice over, with half the amount of food and sleep for my family.

Yes, it’s worth the hours worth of work. If the grocery stores magically ran out of food right now. My wife could take all the resources we produce and bake a cake. Not many are in a position where their belly’s are full while most are fighting over a grain of rice.

Regarding family engagement. When I got home today from an emergency call at work. I woke my oldest and ate a bowl of cereal with him, while asking about his day. He just went back to bed.

As of right now, typing out this comment. I have my 3 month old in my left arm. I’m splitting the night with wifey to help her get some sleep. I do my best to engage with my children. It’s worth the sleep loss.

What does your wife do for work?

The hardest job around here. Homemaker.

Was it her choice or your necessity? All for it if by choice, but if it was due to necessity then I'd say there are other options available. Reading through your posts I think you have a great thing going. Just don't force those around you into your lifestyle if it hasn't been made optional, although it sounds like you're all happy with how you're living. Good on you if that's the case!

She chose to after our first kiddo was born.

That’s not a lot of sleep! I guess a possibly little over 6 hours if you get right to bed, but you likely wake up closer to 4 or 4:30 AM, and are asleep maybe by 11 PM.

You’re right. One of these days maybe I’ll experience what normal people call “ a full nights rest.” I’ve only read about it.😜

Since I have a 3 hour round trip commute daily. I eat breakfast in my car. Nothing that requires two hands to eat. On my way home, that’s when I make important phone calls to whomever I need too.

This is really unsustainable. Idk how long you’ve been doing this but this will kill you long term.

I own 50 acres in the Santa Cruz mountains. This house is fully self sustaining I can go a month cut off from the world. So I have some insight in what it takes to do what your doing and how to manage a large property. But this is crazy. 3 hour commuting a day? What the fuck dude.

I just do it. My property is worth it.

What's your winter schedule like?

That is my winter schedule.

What’s things are harder than people might expect and what things are easier?

What things should we all be doing?

The hardest and most back breaking physical task I’ve ever had the pleasure of doing is hand-breaking land into farmable soil. Cutting down trees, removing stumps and root systems, then removing all the rocks. It was hard when I was 17. Now that im 31, it hasn’t gotten any easier.

Second most physical and probably the most dangerous is hand digging a well. Getting back out of a deep hole has its challenges, having enough rock to shore up the walls is another big task. Soul collapsing on top of you is a legitimate risk.

Mentally the hardest thing is dealing with the constant chaos. One moment, a goat gets its head stuck in the fence. Another, you’re woken up at 3am because a pack of coyotes are trying to make your sheep their breakfast. You really never get a break. It’s always something.🙃🤣

Edit: everything can be easier with the right heavy equipment.

What do you think the average cityperson or suburbian would find themselves missing unexpectedly little? and what do you think would be an unexpected thing most people would miss?

Average city person/ suburbian wouldn’t enjoy a breach birth. Which involves your hands in an animals birth canal, where you have to manipulate the front legs forward to allow the baby to be pushed out of the mother. It’s really, really messy.

Average city person/suburbian would enjoy all the “farm fresh” food. All of which is either grown or raised in my land.

What is a homesteader? Did the govment give you free land or incentives?

I don’t pay full property taxes, on top of a USDA loan for my mortgage for urban development.

Not to take anything away from your accomplishments, but a homestead tax exemption applies to any residential property that is owner-occupied as a primary residence. I had a "homestead exemption" on my Long Island City mid-rise condo apartment.

Just FYI

Lmao. I always wondered about condos and such. One thing not mentioned much is the USDA rural development loan I took for this property.

What makes the homestead “a much more wholesome lifestyle”?

For starters, water from your own well and food from your own soil. Our diet has improved 10-fold.

What inspire and motivate to stick your work?(legacy pride or getting sth new experience)

Tenacity and the responsibility that follows when your family and +200 animals directly depend on your success to survive.

At what age do you project you'll be able to retire from either your full-time job or the homestead? Based on your comments, you're putting in 75-100 hours a week of work, at least some of which is physically demanding, with little sleep to allow for recovery. Your body will not become more resilient over the next ~10 years.

Without digging through every comment, I'd guess that your land is valuable enough to serve as a retirement fund, but that you'd prefer homesteading over millwrighting.

The goal is to have the homestead profitable in 4 more years. Once Profits from the homestead and my salary pay off the mortgage. That’s when I want to switch.

Would you be disappointed if your children chose to live in the city when they are older? Do you expect them to follow your path?

They’ll have a good head on their shoulders. If they want too, they can. I just hope they come visit every once in a while.

Do you keep guns around to deal with unwanted attention (of either the four-legged or two-legged kind)? I imagine you must keep some around for supplementing your food supply with hunting activities.

On that note, what would you do if you found a predator that's from a protected species (and hence illegal to kill) chowing down on your livestock? This has happened to other farmers before, such as this one who dealt with the predator, a protected Canada Lynx, in a very unusual way. Canada Lynx apparently also reside in northern Minnesota too.

“do I keep guns?” lmao. Yeah.

Not pictured: Remington 700 in .308, Savage Model 10 in .308, my Garage Ar-15, my barn Ar-15, and a few Remington 870s in 12Ga. I can’t remember if I have 3 or 4 of them. I’d have to count.

Also not pictured for a good reason: all my fucking ammunition and spare sets of level 3 plate carriers. 🤣

Edit: there’s an old saying “shoot it, shovel it, shut up.” The only time I’d ever consider ending an endangered animals life, is if it’s actively trying to eat my face off. Yes, I’m shootings it until I run out of ammunition in my magazine. If it’s still trying to eat my face, I will skull-fuck it with my empty weapon until it stops trying to eat my face.

I’ll do everything in my power to not kill protected animals. I’m sure my lawyer would be happy to here me say this.

I'm trying to digest this whole AMA. You seem to take a lot of pride in your lifestyle but the lifestyle you chose isn't a requirement for a homestead. The homestead is just a tax break that gives a mild $15k break on the taxable value of your property. So the heart of the AMA seems to be more about your lifestyle choice than the "homestead" per se.

You obviously take a lot of pride in eschewing a lot of modern technology to live a more rigorous lifestyle. What makes guns the exception to your values? Like, you won't give your kid a tablet and don't use modern banking and want to make your own food and build your own makeshift barn, you use wood burning instead of HVAC and dig wells manually. But you have no trouble keeping a whole arsenal of weapons created with high-tech industrial methods to "skull-fuck" animals with if need be? You don't see this as intellectually inconsistent?

If I’m avoiding modern technology as much as you’re claiming I am. I think you’re argument should’ve included my solar panels as the conflicting example, rather than firearms.

Yes, the homestead tax credit is something anyone could obtain. However, my USDA “Rural Development” loan isn’t something that can be used in the city. Not many people recognize that and was the reason why I posted my tax assessors letter.

Yeah, no, the solar panels are another. Definitely. So what’s makes guns and solar panels the exception?

Because I don’t have the necessary skill set to manufacture both.

Upvoted for keeping it real with your answers, even if unpopular.

I’m not here to lie. If it makes me look bad, good. If it makes me look good, good. A lot so far have called me absolutely insane for living this way.

Yeah, I work 16 hour days across the board, which includes a really long commute. People, who haven’t been to my property and spent a week here won’t understand just how peaceful it is around here. It’s worth busting ass for.

Wow, you make enough money from homesteading to afford all those guns? I don't suppose those came cheap. Have you thought of putting all that firepower to good use by joining in on feral hog eradication efforts? There's been recent news that feral hogs, a seriously destructive agricultural pest, are going to make their way into Minnesota soon. At least if you hunt them down you don't need tags (at least that's been the policy in some states affected by feral hogs), and you can always make good use of the meat (like many hunters do in feral-hog-infested states).

As for protected predatory animals, usually the most common reason as to why they turn their attentions to livestock is because they can't find their normal prey (and hunger is driving them to drastic measures), or are too injured/ill to bring their normal prey down. This video of a Great Horned Owl raiding a chicken coop before being rescued shows how it was in fact suffering from bumblefoot (an infection of a bird's foot). I think that if that owl was completely healthy, it wouldn't likely be trying its luck with a chicken coop.

When hogs come to Minnesota, we will be waiting.

When hogs come to Minnesota, we will be waiting.

You had better be ready to fight to win. Or the state (and perhaps even your homestead) will never see the end of those hogs. They breed VERY fast and are highly destructive to any farmland they come across--many other hog-infested states only "manage" the problem by killing tonnes of them every year, as total extermination of this invasive species in affected areas is not considered practical (albeit there currently isn't enough of the will to win against this ecological scourge).

Bulk binary explosive is roughly $3/lb.

What do you think of the show Homestead Rescue?

There’s some decent information there. There’s a lot of people who are waaaay over their heads and didn’t plan anything out.

It is reality tv though, I do see a lot being dramatized.

One episode i couldn’t even watch because the homesteaders primarily wanted the crew to finish framing and finish the top level to their house. It’s a homestead rescue show, not a home improvement show.🤣

1st Gen here and I'm wondering if you learned or have been taught any techniques to deal with the stress on the bad days where everything seems to go wrong? (Break downs, animal loss, running out of supplies when you need all seem to line up on the same days for me) I'm pretty tough on myself but don't want to take it out on others as I can see my tone and words affects them and make the day harder than it has to be.

This hits hard man. Tenacity is the short answer. Embrace the suck and thrive from it. It’s what makes us worth our salt. On bad days Remind yourself before talking to anyone “ they’re not the problem, let’s not make more problems.”

There’s nothing wrong with taking 30 minutes to yourself to clear your head at the end of each night. There’s also nothing wrong with a grown ass man crying, but do that shit alone where no one can see/hear you. You are the strength to others who depend on you.

Never give up.

What's your secret to successfully raising a wild one rabbit that can have double litters? Asking for a friend who wants to start a rabbit daycare.

I just got really lucky. There’s probably some science that happened that’s beyond my understanding.

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Scorched Earth.

homestead. We lost our original homestead that my great-great-grandfather originally settled to the 1954?-1959?

If your great-great-grandfather is from 1950s, how old are you?

Our original homestead was completely flooded by the 1954-1959 St. Lawrence Seaway/ Moses-Saunders Power Dam project. 1954-1959 being the date range of the project, not the year range of which my great-great grandfather was around.

I hope this further clarifies.

What would be your advice for someone wanting chickens?

They make fantastic tacos.

They’re garbage disposals with wings and will eat damn near anything. If you keep a rooster, assert dominance early to avoid aggression. Know what you want for chickens. There are 3 types: egg layers, meat birds, dual purpose. Depending on your purpose for chickens will dictate the breed.

Chickens are fairly hardy creatures but putting gasoline of their waddles to prevent frostbite is a must if you live in a cold climate.

If you find that your chickens are eating their eggs, put a few golf balls in all the nesting boxes. They will slowly learn to not peck their eggs.

People hate broody hens. I love ‘em. It’s more cost effective if a hen incubates eggs, over the cost of electricity to hatch a batch of chicks.

Do you have to like fend off wolves or watch out for bear attacks on a daily basis? Can you like shoot a wolf to protect your animals or is it illegal?

In my state the Department of National Resources has a long list of pests that I can freely kill with no questions asked.

If I were to go 1 more hour north I’d have wolves to worry about. The ramifications of killing a protected animal are huge. Even if your defending livestock.You’d better have a damn good reason for putting a bullet into a wolf. I hate to say it this way, but the money you’d spend on fines and time spent in jail would be better put towards very sturdy fencing. If an animal dies, 9.9/10 times is just cut my losses and breed more.

Hi OP. My dad is a homesteader out in Montana. He hunts for meat, has an amazing vegetable and fruit garden and has a well on his property. He makes his living as an outdoor guide and spends most of his time fishing these days. Winters are harsh where he is, but he has a nice house on his property and chops enough firewood to last him the season.

What types of seasonal vegetables and fruit do you grow and how do you make it last over winter time? My husband and I are out in California and we currently have a big garden we eat from but we want to expand our options based on more seasonal delights. We had a great potato harvest this year and have added a lemon and lime tree to the mix, and our herb garden is pretty big. We don’t hunt but we do enjoy fishing, and I was considering raising some chickens for eggs.

Montana, huh? Must be beautiful there! 😌 I know the firewood grind very well, as I burn 13 full cord of wood per season. I can empathize with the weather.

I love acorn squash They store for multiple months in a chilly basement. I currently have potato squash, acorn squash and spaghetti squash stored. They’re in separate wicker baskets on a wooden bench.

I do a lot of canning. Using 3 pressure canners I inherited. I’m still going through all my zucchini noodles I vacuum sealed and froze from two years ago. Going as far as canning meat. Canned Chili with goat meat is my favorite winter time meal.

For fruits like the blueberries, strawberries, and grapes that I go. My wife makes jams and I water bath can them. Sadly, the deer last year found my honeycrisp apple saplings. Had 10, have 5 now. Next spring I’m putting up a much taller fence. Hoping to have apples in 10-15 years.

Don’t take this the wrong way. I give California a hard time due to some certain political values. But gosh damn, do I wish I had your climate and extended grow seasons.

I’d love to incorporate homesteading into a city lifestyle. Where should I start?

Don’t be afraid of construction dust.

Did you vote for Trump?

Jo Jorgensen.